Some wayside monitoring systems monitor electric current that is conducted in rails of a track to determine when rail vehicles travel on certain segments of the track. When a rail vehicle travels on the segment of the track through which current is being conducted, the rail vehicle can short out a circuit that includes the rails of the track. This shorting of the circuit can be detected so that the presence of the rail vehicle on the track can be automatically detected.
These systems rely on assumptions that no external factors otherwise impact the conduction of current through the rails of the track. For example, if another foreign object or body creates or forms a short or shunt in the circuit that includes the rails of the track, the wayside monitoring system that is monitoring that segment of the track may incorrectly determine that a rail vehicle is on the segment of the track. This incorrect determination can result in disruption of the flow of traffic in a transportation network that includes the track.
For example, after incorrectly identifying a segment of the track as being occupied by a rail vehicle, the wayside monitoring system may automatically change a traffic or warning signal to erroneously indicate to other rail vehicles that the segment of the track is occupied. Additionally or alternatively, the wayside monitoring system may incorrectly notify a dispatch center that the segment of the track is occupied, which can prevent the dispatch center from using that segment of the track to route rail vehicles.
The erroneous identification of a rail vehicle on the segment of track may only be identified by an operator after an extended period of time. Then, one or more persons may be required to travel to the route segment and visually inspect the segment of track to identify the cause of the errors by the wayside monitoring system. The wayside monitoring system may be unable to identify any potential cause for the errors to the persons seeking to repair the problem with the track.